


Knockin on heavens door

by Bluebird2479



Series: Sweet Child O’mine [3]
Category: Avengers, MCU, Marvel
Genre: Age Regression, BAMF Pepper, Fluff, Gen, Irondad, Natasha Romanoff Has A Heart, Pepperony - Freeform, Steve PTSD, Toddler Steve, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Unplanned Pregnancy, little angst, morgan stark - Freeform, pure fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-13
Updated: 2019-08-13
Packaged: 2020-08-20 14:30:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,352
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20229409
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bluebird2479/pseuds/Bluebird2479
Summary: When they were not fighting aliens and mad scientist, the avengers were normal people with normal lives.An account of the regular days in the Stark household.Or the one with unplanned pregnancies, buzzfeed quizzes and five year old super soldiersNot so regular after all.





	Knockin on heavens door

**Author's Note:**

> Before the winter soldier ya, I wanted to write some Steve tony moments so I write this
> 
> Basically I’m a sucker for fluff and domestic avenger content

After the whole debacle with the mandarin Tony found a temporary, yet secure house for them (and he definitely did not announce the address on live television.)

Steve started school a week late because of his injuries. Pepper went back to running the company. Rhodey got another medal for saving the president and Happy was making a steady recovery.

Tony was recovering too.

He was in his lab, making potato gun mark 2 when Steve entered.

“I know you promised Pepper no more suits, does that mean you make toys now?” He asked, dropping his school bag on the floor

“Do you ever listen to us when we tell you to put your bag in your room?” Tony asked

“Nope.”

He rolled his eyes. When Steve slipped into Captain America mode, he made sure everything was in perfect position and took great care of his stuff. But as Steve Rogers-Stark, he was your typical, lazy teenager.

“To answer your question, I’m not making toys. This is for a friend.” Tony said

Steve frowned “You mean that kid Harley?” He asked

Tony told Steve all about the twelve year old kid that saved his life

“Yeah. I’m returning the favour. Besides, I owe him a limited edition Dora watch.”

Things were going smoothly. After Tony came home from the operation, they found Natasha Romanoff waiting for them in the house, and she was pissed.

“What the hell were you thinking?” She yelled at Tony

“How did you even find this address? How did you get _in_!” Tony asked incredulously

“She’s Natasha.” Steve said, shrugging

“I go on a mission for three weeks and I come back and find out you’ve managed to piss of a terror outfit and basically invited them to your doorstep. You know for a genius, you can be really dumb sometimes.” She yelled

Tony looked at Steve and Pepper for help, who simply shot him a look that clearly said, ‘you deserve it.’

“Hey, come on. We made it out alive and all’s in the past. Now how about you give me a hug?” He said

Natasha glared at him and Tony instinctively took a step backwards.

She proceeded to call him an idiot in Russian before turning towards Pepper and Steve to ask them if they were alright.

That had been a month ago and Natasha still visited whenever she could to check up on them.

Over these visits, Tony saw Steve and Natasha grow closer, much to his relief. If Steve was gonna go back to being an avenger, then Tony would feel a lot better knowing Black Widow was watching his back.

“Hey dad? Can you help me with something?” Steve asked, breaking Tony from his reverie “I have a paper due tomorrow for AP physics and I’m kinda stuck in some parts.”

“Let me see.” Tony said, taking the book from Steve

They spent a few hours like that, Tony helping Steve with his homework. When they were done, Steve told Tony about the rest of his day at school and other stuff.

Tony loved that his son still liked to hang out with him. No matter how busy they were, Steve always came down to the lab to spend

time with his father. Tony cherished every minute of these moments.

Pepper came down, interrupting them.

“Tony I need to talk to you for a minute.” She said

Steve immediately got up, mumbling something about visiting Happy.

Tony and Pepper stared at each other, waiting for someone to talk

“Okay I’ll bite, what’s wrong?” Tony asked

For some reason, the situation felt all too familiar.

“Tony I- I’m pregnant.” Pepper said

—————-

Three months since Pepper announced her pregnancy. Tony was still nervous, obviously, but he was also really excited.

They hadn’t really talked about children so this baby was unexpected.

Tony had been a little nervous about Steve’s reaction. Turned out that was unnecessary.

“I’m going to be a big brother!” He exclaimed, hugging Pepper and spinning her

Like everything he did, Tony went overboard trying to make sure Pepper was comfortable and healthy. She was not happy with all the smothering.

Tony finally invited Harley home. He thought the kid would freak out when he met Captain America, instead, the kid figured out the time travel theory when Steve slipped and called Tony ‘dad’, and instantly started bombarding Steve about time travel.

“Wait, if you’re actually from this century that means you know about stuff like Star Wars and Harry Potter right?” Harley asked

Steve grinned and motioned for the kid to follow him to his room

“Know Harry Potter? Harley, I’m pretty sure I’m its biggest fan.” He said showing him the various paraphernalia he had collected over the years.

“No way!” Harley exclaimed

In no time, Harley and Steve we’re sitting on the floor of his bedroom discussing various aspects of Harry Potter.

“What’s your favourite house?” Harley asked

“I’m sure I’d be a Slytherin.” Steve said

“I’m a Ravenclaw. Everyone thinks you’d be a gryffindor.” Harley said

“Who’s everyone?”

“Buzzfeed quizzes.”

That led the two of them to start taking random quizzes on buzzfeed including what type of dog would you be: Steve got Golden Retriever while Harley got poodle

Tony found them huddled together on Steve’s bed with a tab in front of them

“Oh come on! Look at these answers, they’re so stupid.” Steve exclaimed

Harley pointed to something on the tab and giggled, earning a huff from Steve

“What are you boys doing?” Tony asked, leaning against the doorframe

“Buzzfeed. We’re taking a which Avenger are you Quiz.” Harley said “I got Black Widow.” He proclaimed proudly

“I didn’t get Captain America.” Steve grumbled

“Who did you get?” Tony asked

“Iron Man.”

“Do you have to sound so unhappy about that?” Tony asked irritably

“It’s not that. The answers to the quiz are so obvious and so stupid. Look at the options.” He said, showing the tab to Tony

The question read ‘how would you bake a cake?’

A) righteously

B) I’ll just buy it

C) with thunder

D) with the blood of my enemies

E) bird

F) smash

Tony raised an eyebrow.

“I’m assuming the first option is you, the second is me and the third is Thor-“

“The fourth is Natasha, then Clint and Banner.” Steve finished “righteously? What the hell do people think about me?”

“You know we have a Captain America poster in our detention room. It’s about following the rules.” Harley said

Tony burst out laughing while Steve rolled his eyes

“Following rules? That kids been breaking every rule he’s come across since the day he was born.”

By the end of the evening, Harley seemed to have forgotten he was talking to Captain America and had instead befriended Steve Rogers-Stark. He promised not to tell anyone about the time travel and asked if he could visit again.

Steve already loved that kid and couldn’t wait to catch up again.

———-

Tony found Pepper hunched over the toilet when he entered their room. Sighing, he went to help her.

The morning sickness has reared it’s ugly head and Pepper has been spending more time in the bathroom than the bedroom. Despite that, she stubbornly refused to stop going to work.

“The company won’t run itself Tony. I’m going to have to take a break later anyway, let me go now.” She protested every time he suggested she take it easy.

One good thing about her pregnancy was she didn’t have the same complications Sarah had during hers. Steve reminded him it was only because of the radiation poisoning during that timeline.

Tony still got a headache every time he thought about the past.

“I’m fine Tony.” Pepper said, pushing away Tony’s hands

“You sure you don’t need a doctor?”

“No. Really this is normal. I’m fine.”

That was the end of it. Tony led Pepper to their bed and massaged her shoulders. She sighed in contentment.

“I was thinking about baby names and, what do you think about Morgan?” Tony asked

Pepper turned to look at him

“When did you come up with that?” She asked

“I don’t know. I sorta had a dream that we had a son called Morgan.” He admitted

“I have a feeling it’s gonna be a girl.” Pepper said, smiling at the tiny bump on her belly

“Really? How can you tell?” He asked

“Mothers instinct I guess. Besides, Morgan works for a girl too.” She said

“So you like it” He asked, grinning hopefully

“Morgan Stark. Yeah, I like it.” She said, grinning back

He pressed a lingering kiss on her forehead before moving to talk to her belly

“Hey Morgan, It’s your daddy. I can’t wait to see you buddy. Don’t give mommy a hard time okay?” Tony cooed

“I don’t know if the baby can hear you yet.” Pepper said

“I’m sure she can. I read about it.”

“How many parenting books have you read tony?”

“Between the ones I read before Steve was born and now, I’m pretty sure I’m qualified to deliver the baby.” Tony said, winking at her

“Umm...let’s not do that. I’m sticking with a doctor.” Pepper said, frowning

Tony rolled his eyes at her

“Steve seems really exited about this.” Pepper said

“He’s already picked out themes for us to choose from so he could start painting the nursery. Although he did freak out when I told him he would make a good baby sitter. I just remembered Steve had never actually held a baby before.” Tony said

“Except for the Captain America propaganda photos.” Pepper said thoughtfully

Tony remembered those pictures. Steve dressed in uniform and posing with someone’s baby. His expression looked like he was holding a live bomb.

They both laughed for a while, joking about the various reactions the other avengers would have to babies.

“I can’t wait for this bugger to call me daddy. I kinda miss when Steve used to call me that.” Tony admitted

Pepper smiled and rubbed his arm comfortingly.

The last time Steve had called him ‘daddy’ was just before he was sent back in time. That was a painful memory. The fear in Steve’s voice when he called for his daddy’s help still made Tony wake up in cold sweat at night.

Before they could say anything else,the red alert blared across the room.

They shot panicked looks at each other before rushing out.

Tony went to the control room, surveying the screens.

“Talk to me JARVIS.” Tony said

“Thor’s fighting some Asgardian threat in LA.” Steve replied the same time JARVIS said

“It appears the god of thunder is facing an Asgardian sorcerer known as the Enchantress. The rest of the avengers have been alerted to the situation and are currently on their way.”

“The Enchantress? Really?” Tony sighed.

“Dad we have to go.” Steve said, shield already in hand “Have you seen my uniform.”

Tony groaned, knowing this argument would last a while

“Yeah I think it’s in the lab. I was making upgrades” Tony said

Both Pepper and Steve looked at him in surprise

“You’re actually letting him go!” Pepper said. Tony could read the underlying ‘are you out of your mind?!’ In her tone.

Steve seemed to be holding his breath in anticipation

“Trying to stop you is useless, especially when the threat is so close to where we live. Go get your stuff.” Tony said, sighing with resignation

Steve whooped in excitement

“Thanks dad. I promise I’ll be careful.” He said, rushing to the lab

Pepper looked at him, her mouth open and brows scrunched in confusion.

“JARVIS, activate lockdown in the lab. No one should go in or out for the next 12 hours until I say otherwise. Override any other access.” He commanded “I’m not stupid you know.” He said turning to Pepper

“Lockdown Activated.” Jarvis said

Tony turned on the camera feed from the lab. Steve was dressed in his suit and was trying to come out

“Steve? I’m sorry about this kiddo.” Tony said

“Dad? What the hell! You lied to me?” Steve sounded hurt and angry

“I’m sorry. This is sorcery we’re talking about. Besides, Thor’s got a handle on the situation. The rest of us are damage control.”

“You’re the worst.” Steve yelled

Tony sighed. Despite everything, Steve was still a teenager and a rebellious one at that. He followed orders only when he felt they were within reason.

Clearly he didn’t agree with Tony’s logic

“You keep treating me like some dumb child. I feel suffocated in this house. You’re a manipulative, controlling-“ Steve broke off, breathing harshly “I hate you!” He said coldly

Tony inhaled sharply. Logic told him not to take Steve’s words to heart. But he still felt like something ice cold had stabbed him in the chest.

“I’ll be back soon, we’ll talk then.” Tony said and summoned the suit.

“He doesn’t mean that.” Pepper said

“It sounded like he did. I just hope I don’t screw up with the next one.” Tony sighed and kissed pepper before flying off.

He knew this would happen. It wasn’t in Steve’s nature to sit back and watch, but Tony knew he wasn’t ready for this.

Thor has mentioned the enchantress before. Her name was Amora and she was a powerful sorcerer, second only to the likes of Loki. Banished to earth by Odin, Amora was obsessed with Thor and wanted to seduce him. Another fact about her, being away from Asgard for long times weakened her powersso she resorted to temporarily absorbing the physical abilities of her opponent.

Thor is immune to her magic, Tony’s suit does not come under physical abilities and she can’t absorb that. Natasha and Clint are mortal, she wouldn’t be interested.

That left Steve and Bruce. Bruce had already deduced what Tony had and agreed it was best if he sat this one down.

A powerful enchantress was bad enough, one who was juiced up with hulks strength was downright terrifying.

Steve would not back down from a fight like this. He would walk straight into her line of fire and she would definitely see him as a possible candidate for her to take power from.

So Tony had done what he had to do. He’d explain everything to Steve after he came home and hope his son would understand.

Thor did not have a handle on the situation. If anything, it looked like he was having his ass handed to him.

Natasha was trying to distract Amora while Clint made sure all civilians cleared the area, while shooting down some of her minions.

Amora herself was flying above the battle, barely doing anything herself. Every time Thor came close with mjolnir, she created some kind of illusion to trick him.

Currently, there were ten Amoras flying around Thor who seemed to be operating purely on rage at this point. Natasha spotted Tony flying close and activated her comm

“Took you long enough. You got a plan?” She asked while cutting down some of the poisonous weeds Amora was growing.

Looked like these weeds were paralysing people for a short period of time when they came in contact.

Tony looked at the ten Amora’s. She hadn’t noticed Tony yet, or didn’t think he was important enough to notice.

She would regret that later.

He circled around them, trying to distinguish the real Amora from the illusions.

He frowned at the one closest to him. Something about her form...

Sunlight!

The outline of her form flickered against the sunlight like a mirage.

Soon he figured out which one was the real Amora.

Before he could alert Thor however, Tony noticed something else.

Every time Thor came close, Amora used her hands to channel her force fields. Her mouth was moving to form the illusions.

Could she use her powers if her hands were bound and mouth gagged?

Tony remembered how Loki could be subdued, at least temporarily, when his hands and mouth were bound.

Amora was powerful, but she was nowhere near as dangerous as Loki. If that tactic worked on him, it probably worked on her too right?

“Thor! Her powers are in her-“ tony was gagging.

Amora blasted Thor with a powerful force field before turning towards him, smirking.

“I have lived around mortals long enough to know not to underestimate them, especially not someone with brains like yours.” She said “so you’ve fingered out my weakness? You know I can’t let you live with that knowledge right.”

The invisible vice around his neck tightened. Tony was losing control over the suit and it was only so long before he’d fall to his death, that is of Amora didn’t strangle him to death first.

He felt his vision slowly going darker.

——-

Steve kicked and punched and flung his shield against the door, knowing full well that was useless.

Now, he was at the computer trying to hack into Tony’s system for the override password.

“Steve I’m sorry but I don’t know the password and I’m not sure I’d let you go if I did.” Pepper was saying

He ignored her, still too pissed to talk. Instead, he cut off the camera feed so she couldn’t see what he was doing.

The tv in the lab was showing the fight, live.

Tony had just entered the battle and was surveying the situation. Steve knew his father probably figured out The Enchantresses illusion already.

Steve regretted what he said to Tony, but he couldn’t help it. He was angry.

Tony was scared of losing his son, why didn’t he realise Steve was scared of losing him too?

“Yes!” He exclaimed when he finally got in. Quickly he typed in the code and the door opened. Grabbing his shield, he raced upstairs and out of the door.

“I’m sorry pep, I’ve gotta go.” He called to her before she could say anything else.

Taking one of the quinjets, Steve flew into LA, probably breaking a shitload of laws on the way.

Amora seemed to have his father in some sort of spell when he arrived

“Dad!” Steve shouted, crashing the jet right into the circle of ten Amoras.

The illusions disappeared and the real Amora glared at Steve. On the bright side, Tony seemed back in control.

Amora lifted her hand and shot a beam of energy towards the jet. Steve, having anticipated something like that, jumped out just in time for the beam to hit and destroy the jet.

His father caught him mid fall.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Tony snarled

“Saving your ass.” Steve snapped

An arrow whistled past them and struck Amora on the forehead, instantly electrifying her. It gave enough time for Tony to fly somewhere safe with Steve.

Amora growled and flung the arrow aside. She turned towards Clint who immediately took cover, hiding from her.

“Stark you need to get out of the way, Thor’s headed in your direction.” Natasha’s voice came

“No wait, I know how to defeat her. Her hands and mouth, she’s defenceless if she can’t use them.” Tony said hurriedly

“Well done Stark! But how do we subdue her long enough to bound her?” Thor asked

“I’ll distract her. Figure it out.” Steve said and flung himself forward and out of Tony’s grip. He somersaulted in the air and landed on the roof of a tall building

“You almost gave me a heart attack.” Tony screeched, stopping midair to glare at his son. That was redundant of course because Steve couldn’t see his expression.

“Hey! Hey Amora!” Steve yelled, waving his hands at the enchantress “Come and get me if you can.” He taunted

Amora turned from where she was keeping an eye on Thor and smirked at Steve

“Such a lovely face.” She said serenely, gliding in front of Steve “And such power too. I have had many lovers over the eons, each better than the other. You, child, are the first mortal to catch my attention.” She crooned, running a finger across Steve’s face. Steve said nothing, simply glaring at her.

Tony tried to move forward but he was frozen. Amora was keeping him where he was. It looked like Clint and Thor were stuck too. Natasha was nowhere in sight.

“Flattering, but your not my type.” Steve said flatly

“Don’t worry, that won’t be a problem. One kiss and you’ll be my slave for as longas I please. But now, what I need from you is your strength.” She said and placed her palm on Steve’s chest, drawing power.

“Stay away from him.” Tony yelled, trying his best to move but to no avail.

It happened so fast, Tony almost missed it.

Natasha crept up behind Amora and a grappling hook shot from her gauntlets, which she used like a lasso and expertly bound Amora’s hands.

Amora growled

“I won’t let you get away with this.”

“Her mouth. She can still cast spells.” Tony yelled frantically

She turned to Steve with a fairly alarming expression and starting muttering something. A yellow mist engulfed him and Tony yelled.

The spell on him was broken and he could move again. He rushed to roof of the building, just in time for Thor to shoot forward with a muzzle which he securely placed on Amoras mouth.

The mist faded and Tony lifted his faceplate and knelt beside Steve.

Only it wasn’t Steve.

At least not the same Steve who was standing there two minutes ago.

“Daddy?” A small five year old boy said, peeking at Tony from behind the shield.

“Oh shit!” Tony muttered.

——-

Throughout the ride to jet, the avengers would not stop staring at tiny Steve.

The little boy didn’t seem to notice anything was amiss and was babbling happily to Tony about his cool robot suit.

“...you were flying daddy! Can I go flying too? Please daddy.” He asked

“Huh? Uh- yeah, sure.” Tony said awkwardly

Steve was sitting on Tony’s lap, wrapped in a blanket from the jet as his uniform was too big for him.

Thor explained that Amora had done something like this before and usually, the spell lasted about a week at most.

Tony now had a toddler for a week.

He wasn’t sure what to think of that.

“Of all the spells, why did she cast this one?” Natasha asked

“I think she means to come back for him. Children are easier to manipulate and she seemed smitten by Steve.” Thor said

Anger flared through Tony

“If she so much as looks at him I’m vaporising her on sight.” He threatened

“I’m with you.” Clint modded

“Do not worry Tony. The portal I sent Amora through will take her directly to Asgard. Heimdall has already promised to make sure she gets the punishment she deserves. She will not be able to return to earth.”Thor assured

Tony nodded, though he wasn’t entirely convinced. For now that was good.

He looked at the little kid in his lap, wondering what to do next. Steve was slowly nodding off against him.

“Tired?” He asked him

“M’sleepy.” He muttered, snuggling close to Tony and laying his head against his chest, instantly falling asleep.

“Was he always this small?” Clint asked

“He has a weak heart as a child and he was asthmatic. I guess the age regression spell took away the serum too.” Tony said

“He’s really cute.” Clint commented, smiling at the sleeping child “Figures, looks nothing like you.”

Tony flipped him off and he gladly returned the gesture.

Natasha shook her head at the two of them before turning to Tony

“Did you tell Pepper?”

“Yeah. I even called Bruce. He’s at the house right now.”

It was dark by the time they reached the house. Pepper was waiting outside for them along with Bruce.

Tony carried the sleeping toddler towards them with Natasha walking beside him. Clint and Thor decided to circle back and make sure Amora didn’t leave behind any of her minions or any other nuisance.

“Is that him?” Pepper asked, glancing towards Steve

Tony nodded.

“Come inside. I want to do a check up on him and make sure the spell doesn’t have any side effects we can determine.” Bruce said

Pepper lead the way to Steve’s room and quickly opened the door, allowing Tony to pass. He gently laid Steve on the bed. Steve shifted slightly in his sleep but didn’t wake up. The whole thing must’ve taken a lot out of him.

Bruce checked Steve’s heartbeat and temperature before taking out a syringe from his bag.

“Don’t worry, he’s sleeping. He won’t feel a thing.” Bruce said when Tony opened his mouth to protest

Tony winced when Bruce took Steve’s blood, though the boy himself didn’t move.

“You mentioned he was asthmatic before the serum?” Bruce asked once they came outside

“Yeah. You think he still has it?” Tony asked, concerned

“Most likely. It’s best if you have an inhaler at hand and I’ll write down some medicines, just in case. I’m gonna go to my lab now and examine his blood sample.” Bruce said

“You’ll call if you find anything?” Tony asked

“Of course.”

After Bruce left, Tony joined Pepper on the couch.

“How are you holding up? Feel like running away yet?” He asked her

“It’s gonna take a lot more than that to get rid of me Tony.” She chuckled

Tony relaxed. He was genuinely scared of her reaction

“He might ask for his mom you know?” Pepper said quietly

“We don’t know how his memories were affected.” Tony said, sighing

“We probably shouldn’t tell him about us.” Pepper said “This only lasts a week right?”

“Yeah. At least that’s what Thor thinks.”

“I could stay with my mom till then, to avoid confusion.”

“You don’t have to do that Pep. It’ll be fine.” Tony argued

Before they could say anymore, a cry was heard from inside

“Daddy!”

Tony rushed to his sons room

“Steve! Are you alright piccolo?” He asked, engulfing the toddler in his arms

Steve shook his head against Tony’s shoulder

“Nightmare.”

Tony lifted the little boy and climbed into bed with him. He noticed Pepper lingering out of sight by the doorway.

“What was the nightmare about baby?” He asked

“Bad man with a red face.” Steve whimpered

Tony stared at him in shock

Red skull!

Steve’s memories were obviously muddled. He probably remembered everything but had a toddlers perception of it.

All the crap Steve had been through was hard enough as it is, but for a five year old, that trauma would be horrible to deal with.

“Oh baby!” Tony exclaimed and pulled Steve into a hug, rubbing his back and muttering soothing words in his ears.

“I want a bedtime story.” Steve said, pulling away

“Okay. Which story do you want?” Tony asked

“Can Pepper read me?” Steve asked with pleading eyes

Tony was taken aback and judging from the startled gasp from the hallway, he wasn’t the only one.

“Please daddy?” Steve asked again

Like he could say no to that

“Go ask her yourself.” Tony said and Steve hopped off the bed and raced outside. Pepper was pacing the living room when Steve bounded up to her and clutched her hand in his tiny fist.

“Pepper? Can you tell me a bed time story?” He asked earnestly

Pepper shot Tony a startled look before turning to Steve again

She smiled uncertainly and knelt before him

“Of course kiddo. What story do you want?”

“Iron man!” He squealed

“Iron man huh?” Pepper said, lifting Steve in her arms and carried him back to his bed. Steve snuggled close to Pepper and laid his head on her shoulder as she started her story

“Once upon a time, there was a clever but arrogant man called Tony Stark. He was also very short..”

“Hey!” Tony protested

“Daddy! Don’t disturb her.” Steve said looking at tony admonishingly

Pepper stifled a laugh before continuing the story.

Steve yawned as Pepper finished.

“Go to sleep now Steve. Good night kiddo.” Pepper said, carding her fingers through his hair

“‘Night mommy.” Steve mumbled in his sleep

Peppers hand stalled for a second before she smiled warmly and placed a kiss on Steve’s head.

When she looked at Tony, he was staring at her with an awestruck expression

“What?” She asked

“Nothing, you’re just amazing.” Tony said

They walked out of the room and Pepper kissed Tony

“You seem happy.” Tony commented

“I was always a little worried he would hate me for taking his mother’s place in your life. But now, I think I know where I stand in _his_. I’ve grown to love that kid Tony, and it means a lot to me to know how he feels about me.” She said, smiling happily

Tony kissed her again

“You’re amazing? Did I tell you that?”

“Hmm. Not enough.” She said

“Well let me make it up to you.” Tony kissed her, harder this time while leading them to their room.

————-

Steve would be a toddler for a week and Tony took advantage of every minute. Steve was a cute kid and Tony really missed that

“I can’t wait for Morgan to come along.” Tony said

“Me too.” Pepper admitted as they watched Steve play with the newly fixed DUM-E

Bruce called to tell them that the serum was still flowing through Steve’s blood and was simply taking time to regenerate. Tony could see it was already working as Steve didn’t need the inhaler as much as he did when he was actually five.

The rest of the avengers came to visit Steve too.

Natasha was quite good with kids and spent an entire day playing with him. She also didn’t teach him anything children shouldn’t learn, like knife throwing.

Clint, on the other hand, spent one hour with the kid and decided he was ready for a bow and arrow.

“Relax, they’re safe.” He said when Tony asked what the hell he though he was doing

”They have sharp points how the hell is that safe?”

”Atleast they don’t explode.”

Thor was worse. He clearly didn’t understand earth rules of what kids can and cannot do and let Steve play with some magical artefact from Asgard. Tony came home to find his cars shrunk to the size of a rat. Thor also let Steve have all the pop tarts he asked for and Tony was left dealing with a hyperactive Toddler with a sugar rush.

Steve seemed to like Bruce the most though, much to the the doctors surprise. Bruce had been reluctant to be around a five year old, in case he accidentally hulked out and hurt him.

But Steve followed Bruce around, asking him various questions about space and dinosaurs. Bruce answered them truthfully, explaining more than a five year old would understand.

Tony found them in his lab, looking at a holograph image of a T-Rex. Bruce was explaining different facts about the dinosaur while Steve listened, his mouth agape in wonder.

“Wow! That’s awesome. You’re so cool uncle Bruce.” Steve exclaimed

That was another thing. Of all the avengers, only Bruce got the honour of being called uncle. He nearly teared up the first time Steve used that.

Rhodey visited too, except Tony didn’t have time to warn him about what happened.

Steve leapt right into Rhodeys arms who caught him on instinct, staring at Steve like he was a ghost

“St-Steve?” He stuttered

“Uncle Rhodey. Did you know Daddy flied yesterday?” He asked enthusiastically

“Why are you...half sized?” He asked

“You’re silly.” Steve giggled

Rhodey looked to Tony and Pepper for an explanation, both were too busy laughing at his expression

Tony and Pepper spent most of the time with Steve.

Tony was still annoyed at his son for the charging onto battle like that and offering himself up as bait. In retaliation, he decided to take increasingly embarrassing pictures and videos of toddler Steve so he could show them to teenage Steve later.

Pepper took Steve to the park every evening after she came home from SI. Steve accidentally called her mommy a few more times and each time, Pepper looked close to tearing up. Her hormones didn’t exactly help.

Tony loved watching them interact. Pepper was worried she wasn’t experienced with kids but with the way she treated Steve, Tony knew she’d be an amazing mom to their kid.

“Bath time!” Tony called out, interrupting Steve’s cartoon

“Five more minutes. Please daddy.”

“No can do squirt.” Tony said, picking him up when he didn’t move

Steve shouted in protest.

“Nooo. No bath time. You’re being mean daddy.”

“Not gonna work kiddo. You used to love bath time.” Tony said

He wrestled Steve into the bath and after several escape attempts, he finally managed to get the boy clean at the cost of him getting completely drenched.

He sighed and wrapped a towel around Steve before grabbing one for himself

Steve was pouting and refusing to look at Tony

“Cmon kid. Tell me what’s wrong.”

Steve humphed, a few angry tears leaking from his eyes

Tony frowned and dressed him so he wouldn’t catch a cold and pulled the kid closer.

“Talk to me baby. What’s wrong?”tony asked, rubbing his back soothingly

“I don’t like the water daddy. The plane crashed into the water too.” He said, sniffling

Tony cursed under his breath

“I’m so sorry Steve. I shouldn’t have forced you like that. But it’s okay now, see? You’re safe.”

This was the worst part. Steve still had memories of the war and the battle of New York, but he didn’t quite understand them.

Tony found him one night, wandering around the halls looking for Bucky. That was a conversation Tony hoped he never had to have again.

He was trying his best to help the kid cope as much as he can. Teenager Steve seemed to be getting better, but Tony wondered how much of that was real.

“You’re not mean daddy. I’m sorry.” Steve said

“I’m sorry too kiddo.”

“I love you daddy.”

“ I love you tons, piccolo.”

——

The week came to an end but the spell didn’t break. Steve was still a five year old.

“Amora was greatly weakened after she used the spell. I believe she drained her magic to cast it. But do not fear stark, no spell of hers lasts long beyond Asgard.” Thor speculated

Tony grimaced. Thors definition of ‘not long’ could range between the next day and next year.

“Hey! How’s my favourite soldier doing?” Natasha asked, kissing Steve’s cheek

“I’m drawing.” Steve said, showing her the crayon drawing

Tony watched them from across the dining table, sipping coffee

Today was the tenth day since the spell had been cast and Tony was losing hope of it ever being reversed.

A part of him was happy about it. Would it be so bad if Steve got to live his childhood again? This time it would be a proper, happy one without the time travel crap and the war and all the other schist.

The part of Tony’s mind that always sounded like Steve felt guilty for thinking like that.

“Look Nat, that’s you and that’s me, and Thor, Clint and Uncle Bruce. That’s daddy and Pepper beside the house and that’s baby Morgan. She’s gonna be my little sister.” Steve explained, pointing to each drawing on the paper

Natasha raised an eyebrow at Tony for the last part and Tony shrugged,

“It’s the name we thought of.” He said

“Natasha’s a good name too, in case you’re wondering.” She said

“Funny, that’s Morgan’s god mothers name, if she’s willing that is.” Tony said, smiling cheekily at her

Tony and Pepper had discussed thisa week ago. Rhodey was already Steve’s Godfather so they decided on Natasha for Morgan

“Are you serious Stark?” She asked

“Of course. We trust you.” Pepper answers, entering the room

Natasha smiles at her, her gaze flickering to Peppers belly. Her expression changed

“I’m not sure if I’m your best choice.” Natasha said, frowning at the table

“Well I think you are. Look you don’t have to do this if you don’t want to, but I mean it when I say there’s no one I trust more for this job more than you.” Tony said

She smiled “Anyone tries to harm this baby, they’re gonna be in a for a crude shock.”

“I know.”

Throughout the conversation, Steve continued drawing. He only looked up when Bruce came in.

“Uncle Bruce! You’re here.” He exclaimed and proceeded to show him the drawing as well.

Later, Tony stuck the drawing on the fridge while Bruce once again sat down to tell Steve random science facts. Natasha was smiling fondly at them both while talking to Pepper.

Tony looked at them all and wondered again, would it be so bad if the spell stayed that way?

—-

That night, yellow mist one again engulfed Steve while he slept. By morning, Steve was a teenager again.

“Dad? What happened?” Steve asked blearily, walking into the living room

Tony and Pepper exchanged shocked looks before filling Steve in on everything that happened.

Steve groaned when he looked at the pictures

“Did I really ask Clint to give me a piggy back ride?” He asked

“Natasha blowed raspberry’s on your back. She also gave you a bath.” Tony said.

Steve looked mortified

“Please tell me you’re joking.” He begged

“He’s not. You seemed very clingy whenever she was around.” Pepper confirmed

Steve banged his head in the table.

“Do you think I can get away with changing my identity and living in China?” Steve asked, his voice muffled from where he was hiding his face

“And people say I’m the drama queen.” Tony said

“He’s you’re flesh and blood.” Pepper said shrugging

Steve glared at them

“Why didn’t you stop me from doing all that?” He snapped

“Really? You hacked into my server and joined the battle when I specifically told you not to. Then, you offered yourself up as distraction again a powerful sorceress. You’re lucky I think the past week was punishment enough.” Tony said

Steve glares and tony glared right back.

With huff, Steve got up and stalked back to his room

“Toddlers are so much better than teenagers.” Tony muttered

“Seriously? Even after the cars and the pop tarts and the arrows..” Pepper listed

“I’ll rephrase that, kids are the worst.”

Pepper raised her eyebrow at him

“Sorry. I love them, obviously. But you gotta admit they’re a handful.” He said

“Well not everyone has a superhero for a kid.” Pepper said “that’s gotta be harder.”

“Hopefully, Morgan will want a normal life.” Tony said

“When have things ever gone our way?”

“Damn.”

“You should go talk to him.”

Tony sighed. He was tired of arguing with Steve. Yet since the moment Steve came back, they’ve been arguing.

Tony slowly got up to leave, then glanced at the drawing.

Steve had drawn everyone in the picture and labelled it ‘my family’. Even at five, Steve could read and write better than most ten year olds.

The blond haired stick figure that was Steve was standing next to Tony. Underneath Tony’s drawing, Steve had written the the words ‘my hero.’

Tony sighed deeply and made his way to Steve’s room.

——-

Steve was angry.

He seemed to be angry a lot these days.

He didn’t care.

His dad had no right lecturing him like that after Steve saved his life. Amora would’ve strangled him if Steve hadn’t gotten there in time.

He understood his dads concern but it was pointless.

He fought in world war II for fucks sake.

He was lying on his bed, staring up at the ceiling when his dad came.

“Knock knock.” Tony said standing by the door

Steve didn’t even look at him.

Tony sighed and entered the room

“I know you’re angry but can you please hear me out?”

“Will you leave if I say no?”

“C’mon kid I’m trying.”

Steve sat up abruptly

“Then don’t. I’m tired of this dad. You’re so worried about something happening to me, have you ever stopped to wonder what I would feel if something happened to you.” He retorted

Tony closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Steve continued before he could open his mouth

“You know I fought in a war right? I commandeered missions across the enemy lines. I’ve _killed_ people dad. I’m not some fragile doll you need to protect all the time.”

A pained expression crossed Tony’s face. He knew all of this, but didn’t want to acknowledge it.

“I trust you Steve. I know what you’re capable of. But I don’t think you’re ready.” Tony said

“Why?”

“When you crashed that plane, what was going on in your mind?” Tony asked

Steve frowned

“I told you. There were bombs in that plane, I had to make sure they didn’t hit the city. Everyone knows this.”

“Tell me honestly. If Bucky had been alive, would you have crashed that plane without at least _trying_ to save yourself first?” Tony asked

Steve’s expression changed from shocked to angry to pain to resignation in a matter of seconds

“You think I’m suicidal?” He asked softly

“I think you still have a lot to deal with. You’re so young Steve, there’s still time for you to save everyone else. You need to focus on saving yourself first.” Tony said

“Helping people is the only way I know how to cope. Otherwise all I can think about is the ones I couldn’t save.” Steve said, eyes bright with unshed tears

“We can’t save everyone Steve. You should know that better than anyone.” Tony said

“Sometimes, I wish I never became Captain America. I wish I could’ve been normal. But then I feel guilty for thinking that way. If not me, then who’s gonna help all these people?”

“When you were turned into a toddler, a part of me wished you would stay that way. I wanted you to have a normal childhood. But then I realised that it didn’t matter if you were Captain America or not, you were always gonna go down this road. You never could stand by and watch when someone was in trouble. That’s all you kid, not the serum.”

“I’ll try to work out my issues. I promise. But dad, my birthday is in a couple of months and you’re gonna have to accept the fact that I can’t stay by the sidelines any longer.”Steve said seriously

“I know. It scares me.” Tony admitted

“How about a deal. I’ll take it slowly, nothing big at first. And you can monitor them if you want, see if you think I’m ready. I also won’t go on any missions till I complete school.” Steve said

“I still don’t like it, but fine. It’s fair. Doesn’t mean I like it though.” Tony added

Steve chuckled

“Did I really call Pepper ‘mommy’?” Steve asked

“You did. Five times actually.” Tony said

“Ugh. That’s gonna make things so awkward.” Steve groaned

“Actually, she was happy. She thinks it means you accept her as family.” Tony said

“I always did. Didn’t she know?” Steve asked incredulously

“She had her doubts.” Tony shrugged “Bruce practically cried when you called him ‘uncle’” he added

Steve shook his head and chuckled

“Another thing, you missed like ten days of school and you have a truckload of work to catch up on.”

Steve groaned.

“Don’t worry, I’ll help you. I already got your work sent in. You’re friends also seemed eager to help you out.” Tony said

“Where did you tell them I was?” Steve asked

“Pepper told your school you were on a special internship with Tony Stark. Literally no one would question that.” He said

Steve laughed

“I can’t wait to see the expression on Stone’s face when he hears that.” Steve said

Tony hugged Steve

“Um..that’s nice, but why so suddenly?” Steve asked

“Shut up, it was long overdue.” Tony said

Steve chuckled and buried his face in Tony’s shoulder

“I love you Steve.”

“I love you...daddy”

**Author's Note:**

> The next fic is gonna be a little different. But you’re gonna have to wait a little while before I post it. Lots of love and please do comment


End file.
